willowdalefandomcom-20200214-history
User blog:Kanthia/Monday Morning
(Or: Ru is a terrible person. With files from my campers ♥ Warning: foul language, drug references) The girl next to her on the subway was listening to You Belong With Me at full blast. Ruby suddenly recognized her as a classmate from her World History class, and was immediately ticked off. She tucked her hair behind her ears, angrily tugged at the hem of her skirt – it was technically up to dress code, because all it said was that you had to wear your uniform at all times, and there was nothing about raising the hem a few inches – unbuttoned her collar, and adjusted her necklace. (something glints in the dark.) One more year of band geeks listening to Taylor Swift on the subway. The girl was wearing hoop earrings and an oversized blouse over her dress pants, staring at her Nintendo DS. Ruby wondered what her name was. She rarely learned names and even more rarely used them, but something told her that this was the girl who had bitched her out the other day about dating Jake, for stealing someone with such a ‘sensitive heart’. That’s the problem with Taylor Swift, ''Ruby thought, grinning wryly. ''She convinces people that everyone, deep down inside, is a good person. The subway slowed to a stop. Holding down her skirt, Ruby stood up and exited the station, following the band girl (Jessica? Justine? Gina?) up the stairs and into the fresh air, a block away from their school. There were still ten minutes before the first bell. She pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit up. (she’s buried in rubble.) Jake was talking with some potheads by the school gate as she approached, one of whom Ruby recognized from the particularly wicked kegger that past Friday night. She had been getting more and more bored with the party scene, but this particular night (Jake had dragged her to it) had been everything she had wanted – boundless, mindless energy; a live band in the basement; green-behind-the-ears freshmen to mock. Pictures of ninth-graders puking and tripping out were all over Facebook. And Jake, the blond-haired, green-eyed hockey star and valedictorian, had been behind it all. That was what she loved about him the most – the teachers loved him, because he was so good at duping people. He was two-faced. Ruby could appreciate that. “Hey,” he said, as she approached. “Gimme a drag?” She handed him the cigarette, and he inhaled, appreciatively. One of the people he had been talking to, a girl with stringy black hair and clothes that stank of weed, lit her own cigarette. “Mum says she saw your step-dad at Wal-Mart the other day. He wants to know when you’re coming home.” (they huddle as the snow falls, stinking of blood.) “He knows what my answer is,” Ruby said, snatching the cigarette back from Jake, tasting his mouthwash when she took a drag. “They have Fiona and don’t have to deal with a fuck-up like me. They should be happy.” “Aww, you’re not a fuck-up, Ru.” Jake’s arm encircled her waist. “Who has the nimblest fingers in school?” She socked him in the shoulder, playfully. (Like he cared – he had rich parents.) The first bell rang. None of them moved. Ruby suddenly remembered the paper due in her first-period class – or was it a test? – and sighed, as they watched the keeners stream into the building. The early summer season was calling for bare legs and arms, and soon enough they’d be done exams, and after that she had one year of high school before freedom. (the red round of the sun crests the ocean, bringing with it the fresh scent of dawn) “…Hey,” Ruby said, leaning into Jake. “Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place?” “Like how?” “Like you’re supposed to be somewhere else? Somewhere really far away?” “Only on a bad trip,” Jake said, as he opened his bag and turned out six water bottles of warm vodka, and they all laughed and drank to it. (the cart trundles on, towards Willowdale) Category:Blog posts Category:Reflection